Jim,
Thanks for accepting appointment to the new position of Field Day coordinator. Over the years I have made up a list of lessons learned and observations. I know others have done the same thing. I will circle back and add some of the points I have developed as well as some points others have shared with me.
One place to reference is the QST pull out that ARRL puts together. This year it was titled ARRL Field Day Guide. To me that is the easiest to understand guide that I have ever seen. Very straight forward. The actual web page with the rules for the 2021 Field Day are here (ARRL Field Day Rules), with the 2021 Field Day packet here. But, that guide is just super.
I will make the pitch that we need to start looking for people to fill the various positions that score points for the Club right now. Willing to help us score for “Safety Officer Bonus” (“100 bonus points. Include a statement with the supporting documentation for your entry, verifying that a designated Safety Officer completed the ARRL Field Day Safety Check List.”) or Social Media Bonus (“100 bonus points. Promote your Field Day activation to the general public via social media (Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, etc.). Individual participants do not qualify for this bonus. Club websites do not qualify as social media. Available to all classes who welcome visitors to their operation.”)? Dan Beard (KB7JZI) has recently accepted the newly created position of Media Coordinator, but I am sure he would welcome someone making social media posts on Field Day 2022. If you can help out with any of this stuff during Field Day 2022, please reach out to Jim Clark (WA5QEC) now.
Kathy (W5WON) and I will be there for setup and will again take the RV for generator and “cooling station” support. On both days we are pretty busy with the setup or breakdown of the RV so we can only offer a bit of assistance around the edges when it comes to helping people to get set up or to take down their gear, but I know we need to solidify support for that effort going forward. This year we got lucky and some passersby helped, but we need to get Club supporters recruited in advance and have a staffing list so we know what we have. This year we provided food for lunch and supper on Saturday and breakfast on Sunday. I believe that encouraged participation. The Club officers support that as policy going forward and believe publicizing that we are going to do that prospectively will hopefully stimulate additional support.
We want to start coordinating this stuff as far out as possible to reduce the last minute rush and to ensure no detail is overlooked. Please sign up now to help out with Field Day 2022.
Thanks again Jim and Dan!